Single and loving it?
by Soul93
Summary: Recently divorced Bonnie Bennett thought returning to her old hometown, Mystic Falls, was the perfect place to lick her wounds. No drama, no hassles no nothing! Boy, was she wrong...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: ** Complete AU so no powers or vampires or witchy stuff- nothing but our characters. A Bamon (obviously) but there is some Delena and Stelena thrown in for the plot. There will be excerpts from the self help book Bonnie's reading, this is fictional so it's not a real book.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Vampire Dairies (Question, are these things still really necessary?)

_-__**Single and loving it! By Ruth South**__-_

_The first step to a new you!_

_Are you excited? You should be! A new journey of self discovery awaits and the key is in your hand! Yes my darling your hand! With a few simply and practiced rules within the next 46 chapters you will discover this amazing, thrilling and fantastic secret! Yes the secret to unlocking your potential..._

_**- Single and loving it! By Ruth South-**_

Bonnie sighed closing the book and staring absently around her. Is this what she had been reduced to? Reading self help books to ease her bruised ego? 

Divorce happened practically every day, this was no new phenomena. Yet here she was running away, because really moving to Mystic Falls was just a better way of saying she couldn't stand the looks of pity, the glee from her haters and the disappointment on her father's face. It was weird how she the victim, Troy had cheated on her after all, was the one who had to skip town, where was the justice in all of this?

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie looked up and momentarily forgot her self gloom to crack a smile for her best friend. She stood up, shouldered her bag and accepted the embrace from Elena.

"You look so beautiful!" Elena gushed as she stepped back to look at her.

Funny Bonnie didn't feel beautiful, but Elena was so sincere so she smiled, "You're not so bad yourself," she quipped.

And she wasn't lying either Elena literally looked like she'd stepped out some fashion magazine. Heck, if Bonnie didn't know better she'd swear Elena was the divorcee from LA not her.

"I'm so happy you've come back!" Elena continued.

So much for that 'Kiss my ass Mystic Falls!' sign she'd left. Bonnie thought warily.

"Yeah me too,"

"Is this all your luggage?" Elena asked glancing at the carry on and the suitcase at Bonnie's feet.

"No, the rest well be coming after I find a place," Bonnie replied.

"Well you know you can stay with me as long as you like right?"

Bonnie nodded and they exited the bus station heading for Elena's car. Bonnie watched as Elena's glossy hair moved as they walked. There was literally no wind but here they were dancing on air as if this was some shampoo commercial.

Her stay at Elena's would be temporary, a weeklong temporary thing Bonnie hoped. This wasn't because Elena was mean or anything, it literally had to do with the fact that Bonnie didn't want to have a front row seat to Elena's perfect marriage while she was still licking her wounds.

"So how's Stefan?" Bonnie asked as the buckled up.

Elena glanced at the review mirror, "He's fine but sorry he won't be home when you arrive," she replied.

"Oh so he's working late?"

Elena shook her head, "Away on business, I miss him already," she answered with a laugh.

Bonnie would kill for a husband like Stefan, he was handsome had a good job and importantly he was not a cheater. He was proof that one man can be perfectly happy with one woman! How hard was that? Apparently Troy had found it extremely difficult. He just had to keep testing that theory over and over again with not one but several mistresses.

Too think just last year she'd been so certain no man would ever pull a Tiger Woods on her. Boy had she been wrong, that snake was probably already at it while Bonnie was ranting on about how shameless Woods had acted.

"But we do have another visitor besides you," Elena said breaking Bonnie from a train of thought.

"Oh yeah, who?" she asked slightly distracted as she watched the passing scenery.

"Damon, remember him?" Elena asked glancing at her, "Stefan's older brother?"

Bonnie groaned slumping into her chair, yes she remembered Damon Salvatore and she also remembered that extremely embarrassing run in she had with him several months before she left Mystic Falls.

"Come on he's not that bad," Elena continued with a grin.

That was one of the things Bonnie admired about Elena, the ability to see the good in just about anyone. On second thoughts it was a good thing she hadn't been the one to go to LA, Elena would have surely been walked all over on.

Bonnie cocked an eyebrow at her, "Is he still chasing everything in a skirt?" she asked sceptically.

"You know Damon," Elena brushed casually, "So how are you really?"

"Well according to People, I'm a nervous suicidal wreck who is hell bent on revenge," Bonnie replied with sarcasm, "But E! was nicer they just wrote about my new drug addiction,"

Elena was laughing, "Oh dear no wonder you left," she said shaking her head.

"But I did get a handsome settlement so take that Troy Stark,"

"You took it?"

"Are you kidding?" Bonnie asked incredulous, "Of course I did nothing wipes tears better then dollar bills,"

Too bad those same dollar bills did nothing for her heart and they certainly didn't not warm up her bed at night.

"But you're a survivor, you will get through this Bons and I'll be with you every step," Elena promised freeing her one hand from the steering wheel to clutch Bonnie's hand.

"Thank you 'Lena," she said meaning it.

It was good to have someone she could utterly trust and know would never hurt her intentionally. Unlike all those 'close family friend's' who were all to happy to blab her troubles to the tabloids.

Bonnie could see Elena's house from the distance as they drove up the drive. It stood tucked in thick greenery the perfect place to hide from the prying eyes of the world. No drama that's what was on the agenda and Bonnie felt assured that the Salvatore residence would provide just that.

/

Bonnie tossed again for what felt like the hundredth time in bed and still she couldn't sleep. Maybe she shouldn't have been too quick to throw away Dr. Steven's pain killers. Sure she wasn't in pain but they sure as hell got her to sleep. With a groan she got up and slipped her feet into her slippers.

The insomnia had begun shortly after the whole scandal broke out about her husband, the NBA star Troy Stark's cheating ways. It was a real surreal moment finding out about your husband's infidelity from a waitress at a cafe. Nothing like it.

Elena had promised to give her a tour of the mansion tomorrow morning, Bonnie glanced at the 1:23 red numbers on the alarm clock. Guess tomorrow came faster then she thought.

She already knew where the kitchen was so she'd just go there and get a glass of wine. Bonnie didn't get how some people drank a glass of milk to go back to sleep, it sure as hell did nothing for her! Accept maybe make her lactose intolerant.

The house was quiet and dark, good thing she'd never been one to scare easily.

Bonnie peeked out her door, glanced down the hallway, empty. She slipped out the room and made her way in the dark because really that's the smartest thing to do in a house she didn't know so well.

Engrossed in her thoughts she didn't even notice one of the bedroom doors opening and closing until she walked right into someone. And she would have screamed if the person hadn't placed a hand over her mouth, "Calm it, it's me Damon," he whispered.

More reason to scream! Bonnie thought darkly, Damon was crazy everyone knew that.

She nodded for him to remove his hand, it was dark so she could only make out the shape of him. He removed his hand, "So Dorothy returns from Emerald City," he drawled trapping her path with one arm against the wall.

Bonnie glared at him but it was probably useless in the dark, "Hello to you to Damon," she replied coolly.

He chuckled, "Come on Bon Bon is that anyway to greet an old friend?" he asked amused.

"Old you are but Friend?' she arched her eyebrow, "We were never friends Damon,"

"Really?" he asked and paused; Bonnie knew for effect, "that lacy bra you left in my room tells a different story,"

Damon was nothing if not lacking in subtlety, "You need to bleach your mind from such filthy thoughts Damon," she said coldly before turning, "Oh rather not wouldn't want to fry what few cells you have left," she added before storming back to her room.

It wasn't until she'd locked the door behind her and leaned heavily against it that something donned on her. The room Damon had slipped out of was not just another bedroom, it was the master bedroom.

Stefan and Elena's room. And Stefan was away on business...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_-__**Single and loving it! By Ruth South**__-_

_You are a Go Getter!_

_A journey to self discovery is no easy task, but in order to reach that lifetime fulfilment you will first have to let go of all previous inhabitations! No one ever said facing your fears would be easy...But that does not mean you can't overcome them!_

_**- Single and loving it! By Ruth South-**_

Bonnie had to confront Elena.

Only thing was how exactly do you walk up to your best friend and accuse her of having an affair with her husband's brother?

Yet, how could she not? She had just felt the brunt of such deceit, knew the shock before the hurt really set in. If not for her own conscious but for Stefan, who probably had no idea he had invited temptation into his home in the form of one Damon Salvatore?

You'd think Stefan of all people would know what a trouble maker Damon is, Bonnie herself had learnt that the hard way years ago.

She really hoped it was Jet lag accompanied by a long bus drive that had messed up her eye sight and she was simply hallucinating. She did not want to believe her best friend could do something so...shady.

With a heavy sigh Bonnie finally stepped out her room, now fully dressed for the day she was ready to confront Elena. She hesitated, she wasn't a confrontation person in fact she avoided them. Hated how they could get all tense and awkward at the drop of the hat. What if Elena was having an affair? It wasn't her business...

Then again wasn't that what every one of her so called friends had said when she found out about Troy's infidelity? Well Bonnie was going to make it her business, one day down the line Stefan would thank her and much further down that same line so would Elena.

So Bonnie walked to Elena's door deciding to just get it over and done with, "Elena?" she asked after a brief knock.

"Down here," Elena called out from another room down the passage. Bonnie headed there and for a moment just stood by the door watching Elena as she tried to get the dress over Gemma's head.

"Hey Bons," Elena said looking up to her with a smile.

How could such an innocent face be that of an adulterous? Somewhere under all the pink ruffles and brunette curls a small hand waved at Bonnie.

"Hey, is that little Gemma?" she asked walking into the girly room. It was so like Elena to have the room literally covered in pink.

Elena laughed, fixing the dress, "Yep, only she isn't so little anymore," she said turning back to her daughter, "Tell Aunt Bonnie how old you are my bunny,"

"Drei!" Gemma exclaimed showing Bonnie three fingers, her grin showing two missing front teeth.

When Elena began to brush her hair, the little girl began to squirm until with a roll of her eyes Elena placed down the hairbrush.

"Okay go down, just don't-" Elena said but her words were lost to the toddler who whizzed past Bonnie, "run..."

"Still doesn't speak English?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

Elena sighed and shook her head, "She refuses to speak anything but German, half the time I don't even know what she's blabbering about," she said, "and I blame Paula,"

"The German nanny?" 

"Yep, and Stefan encourages it," Elena replied warily brushing back her hair as she stood up

Talking about Stefan...

"So I saw Damon stepping out your room last night?" Bonnie began leaning against the door jam.

And because she was nervous it came out more like a question then a statement. Okay that wasn't exactly the way to start a confrontation, but she was still a novice at this.

Elena frowned, "Oh he wanted some Anvil, you know Damon can't do anything for himself," she replied easily with a shrug.

Bonnie sighed in relief, of course it was something totally frivolous like that not an affair. She'd just jumped into conclusions. It made perfect sense for Damon to search for headache pills in Elena's room in the middle of the night and not the medicine cabinet. Perfect sense.

Inwardly Bonnie pushed down the nagging doubt, Elena wouldn't lie to her, right? I mean her and Stefan had that everlasting love novels were based on, for couples like them an affair was unfathomable...

"Johnathan Salvatore!" Elena exclaimed spotting her son before he could sneak pass behind Bonnie, "Why aren't you ready for school?"

The six year old groaned still clad in his pjs, "But I went yesterday and the day before that," he whined.

"And you still have two more days before it's the weekend," Elena said warily.

Bonnie thought his face would literally fall off, "What is with this school anyways?" he demanded, "Does it never end?"

Bonnie smiled, wondering how two model people like Elena and Stefan had wound up with such a rebel.

"Not until you're eighteen," Elena said using an indulgent tone.

"Eighteen?!" he exclaimed, "So much for having rights," he grumbled before looking up to Bonnie with hopeful eyes, "Aunt Bonnie how do I get emancipated?"

"Johnathan!" Elena exclaimed.

"One of these days lady I'm setting the feds on you," Jacques said before storming off.

"More than you can handle?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

Elena rolled her eyes picking up some of the toys littering the floor, "You have no idea, just last month he was convinced he had cancer," she said shaking her head.

"Cancer?"

"Yep even went as far as chopping off masses of his hair," Elena replied shaking her head, "Stefan had to shave what little was left,"

Bonnie laughed, "Oh dear so how did you get him out of it?"

"Got his paediatrician to give him these vitamin tabs, he thought was part of his chemotherapy," Elena admitted ruefully.

"What are you feeding your kids Elena?" Bonnie asked amused.

"I ask myself that all the time," Elena replied, "Talking about food, I'm hosting dinner tonight and invited Caroline,"

Bonnie grimaced, "No offence but her and I don't have that much in common," she said.

And it was true sure they'd been friends but Bonnie had always felt that Elena was the one that had glued them together. Plus once Bonnie had left their contact had dwindle until it was texts on birthdays and Christmas.

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be as awkward as you think,"

Bonnie gave Elena a look. How can dinner consisting of her, Caroline and Damon not be awkward?

"Just don't mention Matt," Elena added as an afterthought.

"Why not?"

"Well they recently broke up and she's a bit touchy on the subject," Elena answered wrinkling her nose slightly.

"And suddenly we have a lot more in common," Bonnie quipped making Elena laugh.

/

Bonnie padded to the pool area, her book tucked under her arm and her Chanel's shading her eyes from the sun. After deciding to postpone her house hunting for tomorrow she'd figured she could pass the day lazing by the pool while Elena ran errands.

Plus this was part of her whole 'avoiding Damon' thing.

She flopped into a chaise and was just arranging the pillow behind her, when a splash brought her head up. Curious she lowered her sun glasses.

She watched transfixed as first a mop of dark hair emerged from the clear waters, followed by a face then the shoulders and rest of the body clad only in short black trunks.

She knew now how Damon had passed his time, working out! Sure he had been okay when she left but five years and weights could do amazing things to a body... apparently. She thought as she tried not to literally soak him in.

He climbed out the pool and headed towards her, dripping wet like this was some fragrance ad, "Bon Bon just the girl I've been looking for," he said as way of greeting before flopping on the lounger opposite her, their knees almost touching.

It was like water had been poured over her undersexed hormones and reminded her why she did her best to avoid Damon, "funny, I've been doing the exact opposite," she said warily.

Damon ran a hand through his hair, pushing back the wet bangs. Had his eyes always been so blue? Bonnie wondered.

"You may find this hard to believe but I did miss you," he said his tone light, brushing aside her comment.

Bonnie arched an eyebrow at him, "Really? I mean you never called, never texted, didn't follow me on Twitter and you sure as hell never friended me on Facebook..." she drawled before leaning back into her lounger.

"Didn't you say we weren't friends?" he asked with a grin causing Bonnie to shoot him a glare, "So you finally left the jerk..." he added after an awkward silence fell between.

Bonnie frowned she hadn't even confided in Elena yet and she doubted Damon was the one to unburden her troubles on, "How did you figure I left him, gossip has it he left me?" she asked more casually.

"Because you could have grinned and bared it, but you didn't," he replied simply, "best thing you've ever done Bon Bon,"

Bonnie was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, jerk Damon she could handle but Damon who seemed like he gave a care was a whole new equation she had no solution for, "Well I'm just glad to have it done with," she said when the silence between them stretched for a bit.

"Listen about last night, I was just surprised to see you and didn't mean to-"he began and that was as close as an apology she'd ever get from him.

Bonnie waved it off cutting him mid sentence, "It's okay Damon, I'm over it," she said dismissively.

Damon stared at her for a moment then his glance shifted to her lap where her book lay, "Single and loving? Is this some kind of a joke?" he asked clearly finding amusement in it.

Glad to have the old Damon back, Bonnie slapped his advancing hand away and covered her book, "You could learn a lot from it," she said.

"Honey, I perfected being a bachelor don't need some wacked lady telling me how to live," he said leaning slightly into her space.

Bonnie pushed him back, ignoring the feel of wet skin on her fingertips, "I'm not your honey Damon," she said dryly when she realized she had no smart come back.

"You could be," he taunted.

"Does that actually work on women?" Bonnie asked incredulous.

"You tell me, you're the first one I've tried it on,"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I think you've been under the song too long," she replied shaking her head.

"And you are no more fun," Damon chided, "what happened to the old Bonnie, you know the one who-"

"She grew up Damon and is enjoying a stress free life of being single," Bonnie said cutting him off before he started digging up the past.

Damon laughed and stood up, grabbing a towel with him, "Believe me Bon Bon no one loves being single," he said drying his hair.

Bonnie was glad he didn't push it, seems she wasn't the only one that had done some growing in the years.

"Well I'll take the trained psychologist's advice over yours any day,"

He grinned heading for the house, "Let's see if you feel the same way a month from now," he drawled.

Bonnie rolled her eyes watching his retreating back. She probably shouldn't but curiosity got the best of her and she dropped her eyes to his backside. Not bad at all Salvatore. She mused silently.

"And Bonnie?" Damon began his back still turned as he paused at the threshold. Guiltily Bonnie averted her gaze from his sexy ass, glad he had his back turned to her, "Stop checking out my ass, seriously," he added voice laced with amusement before entering the house.

"Cocky jerk," Bonnie muttered but couldn't prevent the grin that tucked at the corners of her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The quote used is by Samuel Johnson and not any property of mine, simply borrowed.

**-Single and loving it! By Ruth South-**

"Revenge is an act of passion, vengeance is an act of Justice"

But I implore you my darlings, seek neither revenge nor vengeance on those who've done your wrong, rather turn a blind eye. Is it not better to love your tormentors instead of sinking to their level? More virtuous even, something every young woman should aspire for. But under no circumstances should you become a walkover!

**-Single and loving it! By Ruth South-**

Bonnie is roughly 8 here and Damon 11.

Bonnie clenched her tiny fists, eyes lidded with tears she refused to shed. She wouldn't give that little weasel the satisfaction. She yanked at the branches in her stride making her way to the old oak tree.

Panting slightly she craned her neck, spotting two pale legs dangling from a branch high up the tree.

"Damon Salvatore you get down here right now!" she shouted stomping her foot for emphasis.

She heard him laughing but other than that he showed no indication of having heard her.

"Don't let me come and get you!" she warned though secretly she hoped he wouldn't, climbing trees was hard enough without being in her Sunday best. Grams would have her neck if she came back with it torn and dirty again.

"Barney is that you?" he mocked.

"That's not my name!"

Bonnie wished that in her anger she'd thought of coming along with Elena or maybe Stefan because even though Stefan was younger then Damon, Damon listened to him more than he ever did her.

Just when she thought she might actually have to climb up she saw him begin his slow decline and begrudgingly Bonnie noted he still climbed trees better than any of them. Then again Damon was older and had longer legs and arms.

He landed with a thud a smirk on his face and Lolly Pop dangling by the neck in his hand, "Looking for this?" he asked shaking the limp doll.

Bonnie sucked in her breath so she wouldn't cry. How dare he steal her precious Lolly then dangle her so?

"You give her back right now!" she threatened.

Damon struck a pose, a look of boredom on his face, "Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" he asked with a smirk.

Bonnie glared at him, "I'm not your friend!" she hissed and reached out for Lolly but Damon being taller simply raised her higher.

"Too bad if we were friends I might have given her to you, but since we're not," he began with a shrug, "I'll just have to go find another girl... maybe Caroline would like her, what do you think?"

Frustrated Bonnie bit thoughtfully on her lower lip, yet there was no alternative. Her shoulders sagging she accepted defeat, "Fine, we are friends," she said.

Bonnie didn't even understand why Damon wanted to be her friend. Not only was he mean and older but he had friends. Mean boys who where always up to no good, well that's what Grams said they were always up to.

Damon beamed throwing an arm over her shoulder, "Was that so difficult, Barney?" he asked giving her the doll.

Bonnie clutched her doll to her chest and glared up at him, "You better not call me Barney then," she told him.

He rolled his eyes, "Fine, but then it's Bon Bon," he said with finality.

He was relaxed and really didn't expect what she did next. Seeing her opening Bonnie rolled her dress up, clutched Lolly tighter and bit down on Damon's arm, hard. When he released a yelp in pain she was already running as fast as she could.

"This isn't over Bonnie!" Damon called out after her, rubbing at his arm, "remember you have a lot of dolls and I have a lot of time!"

Back to current timeline

Bonnie checked her cell phone, she had exactly an hour before the Elena's dinner. Groaning she pulled of her tee and kicked off her shoes. It gave her exactly 30mins to soak in the tub with her book the thought alone had a rather calming effect on her.

Twisting her hair into bun, she walked over to the tub and started the water for her bath adding a generous amount of bubble foam. Humming to herself she kicked the bathroom door shut and stripped out of the rest of her clothes. After scrubbing her face clean she turned off the tap and sank into the water.

She released a content smile as she settled in, her book on her side within reach. She'd just closed her eyes for a moment when she heard the door open, thinking it was Elena bringing her extra towels, because that was such an Elena think to do she didn't even bother to open her eyes, "Girl, you can stop with the towels, you'd swear I came to stay here forever," she joked with a little laugh.

"I've been called a lot of things in my life," a voice drawled and Bonnie's eyes flew open in surprise, "But I can assure you, 'girl' is not one of them,"

Bonnie took a deep calming breath, glaring daggers at the towel clad Damon, "What the hell are you doing in here?" she demanded angrily.

He smirked closing the door slowly behind him, "What does it look like?" he asked hooking his thumbs on his low hanging towel.

"It looks like you're lost!" she snapped crossing her arms over her chest.

"Bon Bon my Bon Bon, I'm not lost if anything you are," he replied casually.

Bonnie shook her head, she was not going to get mad. She decided.

"Damon, this is the bathroom to _**my**_ bedroom," she reminded him with strong emphasis. She knew for a fact Damon's guestroom had a built in bathroom.

Damon waved his hand dismissively, "Well, my shower is broken so I'll just use yours then," he stated like it was totally normal.

"Fine, but then you'll just have to wait till I'm finished," she said coolly and all but bristled when she realised the jerk was trying to peer through the bubbles, "And stop leering at me!" she added fluffing the bubbles around her.

"This coming from the woman who couldn't keep her eyes off Damon's ass, what a hypocrite," he chided with an eye roll as he proceeded towards the shower, "Look Bonnie, it's not like we are sharing a shower, you won't even notice me,"

"Damon, I swear-"

"Can't hear you over the water doll," Damon said cutting off her warning as he turned on the water.

Bonnie sat there seething mad, "What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded as if it wasn't obvious that he'd ignored her completely and went ahead with his shower.

"Well, if you must know...right now I'm running the sponge over my pe-"

"Stop!" Bonnie practically shouted, "I don't want to know," she added mortified while covering her ears with her hands.

"Get your mind out the gutter Bennett; I was going to say my pectorals," he said dryly, "Running the sponge over my pectorals,"

"I bet you were," Bonnie mumbled angrily.

"What, you want to scrub my back?"

"NO!"

She heard Damon chuckle, the jerk probably thought it was some grand joke. If she'd hoped he'd matured over the years she was sadly mistaken, but something had changed. She was no longer some girl he could tease just because he could. She'd have her revenge not right now when her only saving grace was rapidly dissipating bubbles, but she would.

From the shower she could hear Damon humming away so she took the opportunity to estimate how fast she could snatch a towel to wrap herself in before taking the others towels with her. It would be sweet revenge to have Damon begging her for a towel. With a smirk Bonnie quietly and cautiously stood up taking a moment to wonder why the bathroom hanger was all the way across the room before she stretched out one leg, watching the shower door from the corner of her eye.

And she would have made her dignified escape had that wench fate not decide at the exact moment to screw her over. It was the sound of the shower door sliding opening that distracted her, in a hurry to get to the towel she misjudged her stepping and with a yelp slipped ungraciously onto the tiled floor on her back.

There was a long silence that seemed to be broken only by the shower that was still running but Bonnie was too mortified to move let alone open her eyes.

"If it's any consolation I have my eyes closed," Damon said obviously trying to hide the amusement in his face, "Would you like me to retreat back into the shower while you get decent?"

Yes how very gentlemanly of him. Bonnie thought darkly, "Yes," she replied her voice thankfully calm.

"On one condition,"

She should have known there was some catch, "What's the condition?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"We leave the past behind and renew our friendship," had he not sounded so sincere Bonnie would have scoffed at the idea and he must have thought that because he quickly added, "We were good friends once,"

And they had been, so begrudgingly she knew she had to accept his terms. Besides there were worst things then being Damon's friend, like lying naked on the bathroom floor, "Okay just go back into the shower and let me get decent," she said.

"Anything for a friend," Damon said smugly.

Bonnie waited a few more seconds before opening her eyes and peeking to make sure he had indeed given her some privacy. Standing up she snatched the towel and quickly wrapped it around her.

"Are you done yet?" Damon asked sounding bored, "Some of us have to also get dressed you know,"

Biting her lower lip in contemplation Bonnie eyed the remaining towels. Oh what the heck! She thought evilly as she grabbed them and made a beeline for the door, "Oh and Damon?"

"What?" 

"Payback's a bitch!" she called out just as she slammed the door behind her muffling his curses.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note**: Am I ashamed of how late this update is! Really I wasn't aware so much time had elapsed. So anyways this chapter is the last of the 'setting' the story chapters, so after this one the story finally get's interesting.

A huge thanks to **Lalaland01** who looked this chapter over.

And of course to my reviewers! Your support and wonderful comments, are just amazing and I hope you're still with me.

So read, enjoy and review!

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

_There are many fishes in the sea..._

Darlings we all know the popular adage, and yes it's true. But what's also true is that the sea is made of all kinds of fishes and some not the kind you want catching your bait. So take it slow, sit back, bask in your own dose of awesomeness then drop the line...

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

Bonnie was in high spirits as she waltzed into the kitchen humming one of those songs, you never really like but the radio plays so often that before you know it, it's stuck in your head like glue on paper.

"You're in a good mood," Elena remarked eyeing her suspiciously as she paused from checking on the roast, "What's got you in such a good mood?"

Bonnie hefted herself on the counter, drawing lazy circles on the tiles with the tips of her pumps, "Can't I just be happy for the sake of being happy?" she asked with what she hoped was an innocent look.

"I swear you and Damon are worst then kids," Elena mumbled rolling her eyes, "Not even a week and you two are already pulling at each other's hair."

Bonnie laughed. If only Elena knew. She thought, "Surely we aren't as worse as your kids?" Bonnie asked with amusement.

"Honey, no one is worse than my kids," she grumbled closing the oven and moving towards the cabinets and pulling out a tiny arm followed by bouncing curls, "Gemma what have I said about hiding in the cabinets?" she asked in exasperation.

The small girl, face covered in some white substance simply stared wide eyed at Elena. Pulling her up, Elena turned to Bonnie, "Could you watch the roast for me, I need to clean her up," she asked.

"Sure," Bonnie agreed with a smile, "What's the white stuff?"

Elena stuck her tongue out licking at Gemma's cheek all the while the little girl squirming in her arms, "Icing sugar, and I have no idea how she found it," She replied eyeing her daughter.

"Ich will nicht meine sϋβe gestohlen!" Gemma exclaimed her face wrinkling into an adorable frown as Elena carried her out of the kitchen.

"I think you should invest in an English/German dictionary!" Bonnie called out to Elena's retreating form.

Smiling she slid off the counter and glanced at the pots, it seemed Elena was going all out and Bonnie wouldn't have expected any less from her friend.

Moving to the fridge, Bonnie searched its contents wondering if there was anything here that wasn't approved by Gerber and was actually edible for adults. Spotting a root beer she pulled it out closing the fridge-

"Boo!"

Bonnie yelped glad the bottle was still firmly closed, "You're such a jerk sometimes," she muttered glaring at Damon.

"You scare too easily," he said snatching the bottle from her hands, unscrewing it and taking a swing before speaking again, "And this is mine," he added waving the bottle in her face.

Bonnie snatched the bottle back and went over to check on Elena's pots.

"You shouldn't be so smug about the towel incident," Damon taunted coming to stand next to her. Sipping from the bottle Bonnie arched her eyebrow in question, "I had no choice but to roll around on your bed to dry myself," he explained with a smirk.

Bonnie snorted up her drink and after several seconds of spluttering to clear her nasal tubes she glared at him, "You wouldn't," she threatened.

"I would... I did," he replied smugly, "But think of it this way, it's like having your biggest fantasy come true. Me on your bed and naked,"

"I had no idea I had such twisted fantasies," Bonnie deadpanned.

"Really you mean not once have you ever wondered about-"

"Elena should get a leash for her dog," a voice drawled and Bonnie turned just in time to catch Caroline enter. The blonde true to her nature had dressed up for the occasion even spotting hot red high heels that seemed to go on forever, "Really a dog hovering in the kitchen is in bad taste." She added with disdain.

"Hey ditzy chick who can't read, strip club is that way," Damon said mentioning the backdoor that lead outside.

"And he barks... how cute," Caroline drawled voice dripping with sarcasm before she turned to face Bonnie a huge smile on her face, "Bonnie!" she exclaimed not even giving her time to speak before squashing her in a hug smothering her with Doir's latest fragrance.

She stepped back running her eyes over Bonnie, "You're so skinny!" she exclaimed and only Caroline could make something like that sound like a compliment.

"It wasn't on purpose," Bonnie said squirming under Caroline's scrutiny. She suddenly felt under dressed in her leggings, oversized sweater and pumps, hair tangled up into a bun on top of her head.

"No, that's a good thing," Caroline said quickly, "I know women who would kill to look like you, I would kill to look like you!"

"Enough all ready can't you see you're overwhelming Pepper Ann?" Damon asked.

"Hey!" Bonnie exclaimed at the slight. It was so like Damon to not say anything about her weight loss then jump at a given opportunity to tease her about it.

"What, you are skinny," he said with a shrug.

Bonnie huffed turning back to Caroline, "So how have you been?" she asked to change the topic.

"I've been great, but enough about me!" the exuberant blonde said her hands grasping Bonnie's arms, "How about you? I mean it's all over the papers but you know how tabloids lie..."

"I'm getting there," Bonnie replied hating that it still hurt to talk about it, just thinking about it made her feel like she'd been stupid not to pick it up earlier.

"And she would be getting there faster without having to be reminded every minute," Damon interjected with a frown.

"She needs to talk about it," Caroline stated throwing Damon a glare, "It's part of the healing process."

"Enough with your healing process," Damon cried, "You were dumped Caroline, not beaten up!"

"What's he talking about?" Bonnie asked giving Damon a disapproving look.

"My book club," Caroline replied unperturbed by Damon's rudeness.

"You mean the crazy women's club," Damon corrected with an eye roll.

"What?" Bonnie asked now clearly confused.

Caroline moved to the stove, turning it off and probably saving Elena's dinner from burning, before she turned back to Bonnie, "I run this book club, it's just a bunch of women-"

"Crazy women," Damon interjected.

"A bunch of women who meet up together weekly to discuss a book, "Caroline continued ignoring Damon, "Our current book is this godsend by Ruth South-"

"Single and Loving it?!" Bonnie exclaimed surprised it was the very same book she was reading.

"Yes!" Caroline enthused, "I tell you that book is like the bible."

"What bible do you read?" Damon asked.

"Damon seriously," Bonnie said exasperated at his actions.

Damon was annoying that was a given, but right now he was really annoying. Which for Damon meant he was probably brooding over something and just too stupid to come out and say it, instead he acted all snide and harsh.

Fortunately Johnathan used that exact moment to enter the kitchen eyes lighting up when he spotted Damon, "The Damon!" he cried practically tackling Damon in his obvious excitement.

"The Johnathan," Damon returned ruffling the kid's hair.

"Hey don't I get a greeting?" Caroline asked feigning annoyance.

"Hey Aunt Car," Johnathan greeted begrudgingly accepting the hug before catching Bonnie's eyes and rolling his eyes as if to say 'can you believe her smothering me like a baby?'

Bonnie shook her head a smile on her face. It seemed Johnathan's mood had lifted immensely since returning from school.

"You seriously need a haircut," Elena said as she entered, Gemma in tow. The girl almost shinning from her cleanness.

"But The Damon doesn't cut his hair," he argued.

"The Damon," Elena stressed checking on her pots, "is an adult."

"So if I was an adult, I wouldn't have to cut my hair?" Johnathan asked and Bonnie sensed a trap coming.

"Yes," Elena replied.

"I want to be emancipated!" Johnathan declared loudly.

He sounded so serious that it would probably be in bad taste to laugh so Bonnie disguised her laugh as a cough showing more tact then Damon who just out laughed.

"Mrs Salvatore, the table is set," Paula said with a thick accent as she appeared at the doorway, she looked like a mouse of a woman, she eyed Gemma and Johnathan warily.

"Thanks Paula, if you could just get these two seated please," Elena asked pulling out serving dishes.

"Do I really have to?" Paula asked with obvious trepidation. The poor woman looked like she'd been sentenced to the guillotine.

Gemma threw herself around her nanny's legs giving the woman no choice but to concede.

"I can seat myself," Johnathan stated strolling out with a haggard looking Paula, Gemma trailing behind her, arms wrapped around her legs.

"Those kids," Caroline said shaking her head, "When's Stefan coming back?"

That was the same question that Bonnie had been wondering about. She noted how Elena busied herself with prepping all the dishes before she finally answered, "Soon...,"

"Well it's been what over a month?" Caroline went on, "You tell him to get his ass back or I'm sending a retrieval team on him."

"Has it really been a month," Elena mused shaking her head, "It really slipped my mind."

Now Bonnie knew something was up. Elena kept tabs on everyone especially Stefan so there was no way Stefan would have been gone for a month without her knowing. Something was just not sitting well with Bonnie.

/

"Dinner went well," Bonnie remarked later as she and Elena lay sprawled on Elena's bed clad in their pjs.

Elena laughed, "I think it's largely due to Caroline and Damon behaving themselves," she said.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, years passed but obviously the little fling Damon and Caroline had years ago had its lingering effects.

"Yeah Bonnie?"

"Huh?"

Elena propped herself on her elbows as she regarded Bonnie, "What happened between you and Damon?" she asked.

"Me and Damon?" Bonnie asked obviously stalling, but Elena had that whole determined expression on her face, that just made it clear she wasn't about to drop it.

"Yeah, after you left Damon went through a really bad period," she elaborated.

He's not the only one. Bonnie thought as she remembered the rather mortifying night nearly seven years ago. Releasing an exasperated sigh, Bonnie pondered on a suitable reply.

"It's complicated," she finally said warily before she turned to Elena, "What happened with you and Stefan?"

Elena averted her gaze suddenly immersed with the duvet pattern, "Nothing," she answered.

"Come on Elena," Bonnie prodded.

"Fine," Elena relented as she sank back into the bed, "Remember how I was after Gemma was born?"

It had been one of the few times Bonnie had come back to Mystic Falls for longer than a weekend stay.

"Yeah,"

"And remember I told you how I just didn't think I can handle something like that again?" she asked softly.

Bonnie nodded.

"Well the thing is Stefan thinks we should have another one...and I can't," Elena lamented.

Inching herself closer to her best friend, Bonnie pulled Elena into a hug, "Stefan loves you Elena," she said, "He'll come around."

"I know, but the thing is Bonnie," Elena paused as she sniffled, "I did something really horrible."

"Want to talk about it?" Bonnie asked.

Elena shook her head.

"Okay you don't have too," Bonnie soothed.

And as the dread in the pit of her stomach worsened, Bonnie sent a prayer that the horrible thing wasn't what she suspected.

/

Bonnie awoke to a tapping sound on her window. Groggily she stumbled out of her bed eyes still heavy with sleep drawing the curtains back and opening the balcony doors, "What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed wrapping her arms around herself to stave off the cold breeze.

"Come with me," Damon said stretching out his hand for her to grasp.

"Damon it's like the crack of dawn or something and I'm freezing-"

"I didn't ask you all that," he said cutting her off as he grasped her arm, "come on... for old times' sake."

"I broke my ankle the last time," Bonnie stated though she didn't resist his pull.

"You were high and there was no balcony last time," Damon said chuckling at the memory.

Bonnie scowled but followed him to the lounge chairs placed on the balcony. She took a seat, drawing her knees to her chest and cocked an eyebrow at the bottle of Bourbon in Damon's hand.

"You can't be serious?" she scoffed.

"I am, besides I like the drunken Bonnie," he said with a smirk, "She's more fun."

"More like dumb," Bonnie mumbled and of course Damon decided to cramp her space by propping himself next to her. They sat huddled together and Bonnie couldn't help thinking that the only thing missing was a blunt between them and it would be like all those years ago when Damon was her biggest confident and they talked about everything and anything.

"We were young," he said unscrewing the bottle and taking a long sip before offering it to her.

It was probably pointless telling him she really didn't drink anymore so Bonnie accepted the bottle but refrained from drinking.

"I regret what happened," Damon said softly and Bonnie almost didn't catch his words, "Maybe if-"

"Maybe we wouldn't be sitting here like this, maybe we wouldn't even be speaking," Bonnie said cutting him off.

Damon sighed leaning back onto the lounger, "So how was he?" he asked.

Bonnie frowned, "How was who?" she asked.

"Stark, your ex-husband," he supplied.

"How was he what?"

"The guy was your first right?"

Bonnie groaned laying down hands over her eyes, "Damon I'm not having this talk with you. Can you scream awkward," she growled.

"I told you about my first," he reminded her.

"Damon the whole school knew about your first," Bonnie stated dryly.

"They assumed, but you knew for certain."

Bonnie sighed, she'd glossed over the details with Elena but somehow she had a feeling Damon would know if she lied. Rubbing her eyes she stared at the sky wondering how Damon always managed to bully her into things.

"It was horrible," she mumbled cringing at the memory.

"It can't be worse than mine," Damon stated, "I doubt you were raped in the locker rooms."

"You told everyone it was consensual," Bonnie said laughing.

"I was twelve and had a reputation to uphold."

"If I remember she was what...sixteen?"

"And crazy, nearly scarred me for life," Damon said though she could tell he was probably fighting the urge to laugh.

"At least you didn't have to narrate your own deflowering," Bonnie mused.

"What?" Damon blurted, "You deflowered Troy Stark?"

Releasing a deep sigh Bonnie mumbled, "It was a mutual deflowering."

Damon threw his head back and laughed, several times he tried to talk but his words would get lost with the laughs in between.

"I swear I'll leave if you're going to laugh like that," Bonnie warned him.

He chuckled a bit as he tried to catch his breath, occasionally wiping at the tears in his eyes, "Mutual deflowering?" he asked, "Seriously Bonnie how on earth did you come up with that?"

She shrugged before unscrewing his bottle and taking a sip she immediately regretted as she began to cough from the burn in her throat.

"Easy there, that's the good stuff," Damon said picking the bottle from her clutches before she spilled it all over the place.

Once she'd recovered Bonnie laid back down, "You're such an alcoholic," she teased.

"No, I'm an occasional drinker," he corrected her with a grin as he tugged at her hair.

Bonnie smiled, "Okay occasional drinker answer something for me?"

"Anything,"

Bonnie turned her head to face him, squinting to get a look at him, "Why are you staying at Elena's?" she asked, "And don't give me that bull about you visiting."

Damon took a sip from his bottle and made a whole show about screwing it closed and placing it on the floor besides him before he turned to regard her, "I heard about the divorce, figured you'd be coming back...so here I am," he replied with a shrug before he asked her, "And you Bonnie, why are you here?"

"Besides needing to get away from everything?" she asked, he nodded. Shifting slightly Bonnie contemplated her reply, "I had a promise to keep," and she didn't need to elaborate further because Damon knew the promise she was referring to.

He leaned over her, "You know this is the part I'm supposed to kiss you senseless," he murmured grasping her chin with his hand.

"I know," Bonnie uttered holding his gaze with her own, "But we're friends," she reminded him.

"And they're certain lines you don't cross," Damon finished with a poignant smile before a mischievous grin flashed on his face.

"What?" Bonnie asked immediately suspicious from the look in Damon's face.

"Bonnie..."

"What?"

"You know just so we know you did it right you can practice your deflowering skills on me," Damon suggested wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

Bonnie laughed, "Damon no offence but you're no way close to being deflower-able," she said.

"For you, I can be your Mary to your holy spirit."

"That's blasphemous!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Damon shrugged, "Is it working?" he asked inching slightly closer.

Bonnie pushed him back, "No!"

"Liar!"

With a shrug Bonnie stood up, stretching her arms before she turned to Damon, "Seeing as you rudely woke me up, you can tuck me in," she said with a grin.

"Can I use my mouth?" Damon asked standing up.

"Hell no!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: ** I'd planned on finishing this story end of last year, but I got sick and it's been a real effort to finish off my works but I'm determined so I'm back on working on my fics in my spare time. Plus TVD wasn't really getting me excited about writing Bamon.

This is unbeta'd because after a year I need to make contact with my beta reader again. So hopefully I'll have her back by the next chapter just really wanted to get this posted as soon as I'd finished it.

Thank you so much to the reviewers, hopefully you guys are still around.

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

_Some burns heal slower than others..._

So you got burnt- the world is full of people in pain. You just need to figure out when it's time to plaster the Band-Aid over the wound and when to leave it exposed so it can heal. The choice has always been yours to make, you just allowed someone else to make it for you in the past.

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

"So what do you think?" Damon asked with a wide grin, his pride was pretty evident.

Had it been any other person but Damon, Bonnie would have plastered a fake smile and lied through her teeth. Instead she stood on the spot, eyes wide and said the honest truth. "This is a death trap."

"Don't be ridiculous," Damon easily dismissed as he walked over the threshold. "It has a certain charm to it...you're just not being open-minded."

"If by open-minded you mean I must tie my own noose and kick the chair then I decline," she deadpanned from her spot outside the house.

When Bonnie had mentioned looking for a place to move into over breakfast, it had mostly been to make polite conversation. It was true, but she wasn't exactly asking for a realtor. Least of all that said realtor be Damon.

He scowled at her. "Okay so it needs a bit of fixing," he began.

"A bit of fixing?' Bonnie scoffed. "Damon this place needs a bulldozer, an accelerant and a match to save it from its misery."

He turned his back to her, glancing around the dusty and crumbling foyer. "A bit of paint, some cleaning and you have a castle," he said as if she hadn't said anything.

"A castle of horrors." Bonnie added.

Damon turned back to her with an exasperated look. "Are you being purposively difficult or is that just the bitch in you creeping up?" he asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "A bit of both," she replied. "You have a talent for enhancing those attributes."

Damon grinned. "So you admit I'm talented," he teased.

"A Picasso in the making."

"I'm going to ignore your sarcasm, your scepticism and especially your narrow minded vision," Damon stated as he hooked his fingers into the belt of his jeans, rocking slightly on his heels. "And I won't say I told you so when you realise how beautiful this place is."

"This realisation... does it come before I die from some vermin infestation or after the roof falls on top of me?" Bonnie asked acridly.

"Stop being so damn safe," Damon said as he grabbed her arm, pulling her into the house. "Honestly, the Bonnie I knew was fearless."

"And look where all that courage left her?" Bonnie began snidely. "Divorced and alone."

"You have me," Damon reminded her.

"Exactly, my luck just keeps getting worse." She said rolling her eyes heavenward.

"Keep insulting me and I won't help you fix this place up," Damon warned as he pulled her along.

Reluctantly Bonnie followed behind him. "Since when have you become handy?" she asked.

"I've always been handy," he answered cheekily. "I just learned to direct my magic hands into doing something more constructive."

"You mean drag unsuspecting women into their untimely deaths?"

"Well my sexual prowess has been known to knock a few out, but death?" he paused to glance back at her with a grin. "Even I haven't surpassed myself."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Not short on modesty," she muttered.

"With this body? I don't think so."

_Same old Damon._ Bonnie thought as he kicked open the French doors leading to the backyard and pulling her besides him. "I won't say I told you so," he joked.

"Er... there's no need," Bonnie began in a derisive tone. "Is this meant to somehow win me over?" she asked, hand gesturing at the overgrown jungle.

"Remember when we were kids?" Damon started.

"How could I forget, you used to bully me relentlessly."

"I was helping you toughen up," Damon said with a careless wave. "You wanted a secret garden right?" he continued.

"I wanted an enchanted garden, yes," Bonnie admitted. "Not a secret grave... the grass alone would bury me alive."

"That," Damon began as he patted her head. "Is what a lawnmower as for... come one Bons, you're going to love it here – trust me."

So she did and that's how Bonnie ended up covered in dust, damaged nails and frizzy hair from the heat. Why she'd let Damon sway her into purchasing this house she did not know. She had an inkling it had something to do with needing to move out of Elena's house. Not that her friend wasn't an amazing host and her stay luxurious, but rather because of the Pandora box she'd unwittingly discovered. She hadn't opened it, didn't think she ever would, but it was there and with it the tension that Mystic Falls wouldn't be the carefree escape she'd initially thought it'd be.

With a tired sigh, Bonnie wiped at the sweat collecting at her brow as she took a sip from the tepid bottled water. She'd been sceptical of Damon's handy skills, but the man was surprising her. He actually seemed to know what he was doing. On the second day she'd finally gotten him to admit that he actually ran a construction company.

The obvious question that had followed of course was why he didn't have his team here instead of having them sweat it out like slaves. He'd grinned, "How else am I supposed to get you all hot and bothered?" To which Bonnie's reply had been to throw a dusty rag at his face. If she had to do manual labour - Damon could eat dirt.

"Damon?" Bonnie called out as she stepped out of the kitchen and into the wide patio. Damon was currently tackling what she'd dubbed the Amazon Jungle with a lawnmower. The place was actually starting to look liveable. And the view wasn't all that shabby. _The greenery, Bonnie, not shirtless and sweating Damon Salvatore._ She reminded herself.

"Enjoying the view?" Damon teased.

She hadn't even realised he'd turned off the machine nor the fact that he'd caught her staring. "Yeah, though those trees look like they could use some sprucing." She said without missing a beat.

"Are you sure the trees are the only things that need my magic hands?" Damon asked with a suggestive stare.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Fine, you could do something about those shrubs too," she said. "Honestly, if I knew you were such a hard worker, I'd have had you build me a house years ago."

"That's me, hardworking chap," Damon drawled as he started the machine again.

With his back to her again, Bonnie allowed herself to grin. She wouldn't admit it, least of all to Damon, but he'd provided her with the perfect distraction. Fixing up the house was almost therapeutic. She was still struggling with fixing her self- so she was focusing some of that energy into creating something beautiful.

/

Bonnie would be lying if she said she hadn't been expecting the question sooner or later, but it still gave her pause. "Damon and I?" she repeated dumbly as she took a sip from her drink.

From besides her, Elena sat, one eye on her children playing in the pool with the ever unfortunate Sofia the other on Bonnie. How she managed that without being crossed eyed, Bonnie attributed to something one developed once they became a mother.

"I'm just saying the two of you have been spending a lot of time together," Elena began slowly, almost as if a part of her regretted even initiating this conversation. "So, is there something going on between the two of you?"

Personally, Bonnie felt Elena had bigger problems in her life than whether or not she and Damon were shacking up, but those weren't words one threw lightly into a conversation over lemonade. "He's helping me with the house," she answered with a shrug.

"Why not get his crew on the job?" Elena asked.

"Maybe because he's frugal?" Elena didn't buy it and honestly neither would Bonnie in her shoes. She finally spared her friend a contemplative look. "Does it bother you Elena?" she asked honestly.

Elena had her head fully turned to the pool, "Does what bother me?" she asked somewhat distracted.

Bonnie followed her line of vision and noticed what had her so distracted. Johnathan was currently swimming towards his sister and nanny. It looked pretty innocent to her. "Elena?" she prodded.

Elena turned back to her. "Of course not, Bonnie. You're both adults, right?" It was not lost on Bonnie that Elena was being evasive. "He's going to dunk her," she added harried as she stood up.

"Dunk-" But Bonnie didn't finish her question as there was a loud splash followed by the cry Bonnie had learnt to associate with Gemma.

"Johnathan, how many times have I told you, your sister is not a buoy?!" Elena was saying, it was the sternest Bonnie had ever heard her.

"But she's always floating!" the boy complained.

"Because she has floats attached to her arms!" Elena snapped, as she pulled out her sniffing daughter.

"It's not like I was trying to drown her!" he yelled indignant, climbing out the pool.

"Honestly Johnathan, what has gotten into you?" Elena asked tiredly, as she lightly jiggled the toddler in her arms.

"When's dad coming back?" Johnathan asked instead. "He's been gone forever mom!"

"Johnathan..." Elena began but it was too late the angry boy had already fled back into the house.

Bonnie watched as Elena rested her chin on her daughter's hair. She really couldn't tell who was consoling who now and the unease in her stomach seemed to twist painfully. For so long a small part of her had envied the happily ever after Elena had found, but she was starting to see cracks in the fairytale the narrator had omitted to mention.

"It's none of my business," Elena began as she turned to Bonnie. "But you're my best friend Bonnie so technically you're my business... I don't want you to get hurt again."

Bonnie waited until a sodden and unhappy Sofia waddled past them, probably in search of Johnathan before he managed to carry out his latest threat- burning down the house, before speaking. "You think Damon will hurt me?" she asked unnecessarily.

Elena seemed to think her words over before speaking. "I think he's always been your Achilles heel Bonnie and I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Well he's already hurt me once so if he were to do it again it would surely be shame on me, right?" she quipped without much humour.

"No, just human." Elena answered as she made her way to the house.

"And Stefan?" Bonnie asked the retreating figure of her friend. "Where is he in all this?"

Elena paused at the door, before replying. "Somewhere where he is trying to forgive me for being human."

Left alone with Elena's ominous parting words, Bonnie sank further into her lounger and pulled her knees to her chest. Her cell phone rested on her exposed midriff. Tentatively she picked it up; ignoring Damon's missed call as she opened her contact list, scrolling down the list of names.

She'd wanted no stress, no problems and a lot of fun. Obviously she'd forgotten they weren't all kids anymore and life wasn't as simple as it used to be. In a way their roles had all been typecast. Caroline had been the ditzy blonde with big ambitions and a competitive streak. Elena had been the glue that kept all of them together. Stefan had been steady, a constant and completely in love with Elena. Damon had been trouble. And she Bonnie had been the dependable and very much predictable friend. Then one day she'd left it all. She'd been stupid to think everyone was still stuck in those roles even after all this time.

_But you're my best friend Bonnie so technically you're my business. _

Which meant that Elena was also her business, right? Right. So Bonnie made the call, discarding all the expectations she'd impossibly set out for herself and falling right into the chaos she'd walked out on all those years ago.

"Hi Stefan... I'm back."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** A reviewer asked me if I'd abandoned this, No I haven't. To be honest I've been so busy I sort of kinda but not really forgot about this story. It's still crazy for me but I'm hoping to finish this up now that I'm back working on it.

This chapter is a tad bit heavy, completely unintentional, but it had to be written. And listening to a 1000 Forms of Fear by Sia and Dead In the water by Ellie Goulding probably didn't help matters much in terms of trying to make it less heavy.

Thank you so much for reviewing and being so patient with me. The editing for this is really half-assed, so I apologize- A LOT.

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

_Because everything happens for a reason... you're just the bitch that got burnt._

Sometimes life gives you lemons and people tend to say make lemonade, but why not throw those lemons away? You don't always have to make better a bad situation, sometimes you need to experience the bad in order to- (**Bonnie abruptly shut the book closed**)

_**-Single and loving it! by Ruth South-**_

"I don't know how I let you pull me into this sort of stuff," Bonnie joked as she kicked her feet to keep afloat. Damon had unceremoniously dragged her off to the lake for what he'd hoped would be skinny dipping- his hopes were dashed.

If Bonnie was being honest with herself she hadn't had this much fun in a long time. It felt like time had stopped, the years and rewinded and they were young, carefree and trying to act older than they actually where. It was a good feeling.

Damon waded towards her, his hair plastered against his skin but not even the droplets of water on his skin could detract from the smile on his face. "I told you it would be fun," he said only a tad smug.

Because she could, Bonnie sent a splash of water flying in his direction, laughing when it smacked him square in the face. 

"You're just asking for trouble," Damon growled around a grin as he advanced towards her.

Bonnie tried to swim out of reach. "Come on, Damon-"

But he'd already managed to grab her by the waist, pulling her underwater. For a crazy second, Bonnie thought the idiot might drown her, causing her to hold onto him desperately. Of course when they broke the surface Damon thought it was just about the funniest thing ever.

"You should have seen your face," he said between snorts of laughter.

She pinched his arm. "You're stupid you know." She said in a chiding tone.

"And you," he paused before dropping a quick kiss onto the tip of her nose. "are adorable when you get all haughty."

After a moment Bonnie slowly released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She swallowed as she glanced away from Damon. Her heartbeat had escalated and she was trying not to let his antics get to her, but the more time she spent with him the more she forgot how not to be drawn to him. And between fixing up her house and boarding at Elena's- they spent virtually every other hour together. She was in so much trouble.

"Come on," he said tugging her towards the shore. Silently Bonnie swam after him and out the water. When they reached their abandoned towels and her beach bag, they sunk onto the spread blanket. It was getting late, a slight chill permitting the air. Bonnie wrapped her towel around her shoulders and pulled her knees to her chest, eyes staring off to the distance.

This game she was playing, even if a reluctant participant, was slowly treading towards dangerous waters. The irony not lost on her. Because honestly she had to consciously keep reminding herself all the reasons why Damon had always been dangerous.

"Was it really that bad?" Damon prodded, breaking the silence.

Turning away from her thoughts, she lifted her eyes back to his electric blue eyes. "Was what so bad?" she asked somewhat distracted.

Damon turned his head so he was fully facing her. He had his serious look on his face and it made Bonnie inwardly squirm. She was so not ready for this conversation, if her intuition was right. Somehow she'd always envisioned that should they ever address the elephant in the room, her hair would at least be air dried and she'd be wearing killer heels for when she had her last word before striding off confidently. Not freeing from her damp bikini with wet hair.

"You left, Bonnie," He began his voice hoarse. "You didn't even say goodbye, I'm thinking it was probably a lot more than just bad."

"I sent out texts," she argued lamely.

"You don't send someone a text after a friendship spanning longer than a decade," he said.

Bonnie could feel her throat tightening and really this wasn't a moment for tears. But she'd buried it all for so long, it was a bit overwhelming. "Damon, you and I...we were never really friends," she said softly.

She thought he would immediately dispute her claim but instead he surprised her with his next words. "That's true," he admitted, not deterred from her look of surprise. "Because to put friendship on what we had... have would be belittling something so much more special than that."

And Bonnie really wished he hadn't said that in that moment, because at any other time she would have laughed and teased him for saying something so unbelievably touching. Honestly, his words touched her soul and fuck it but she was sixteen all over again and he was literally the shining sun in her eyes.

"I hated you, at first," she admitted, because it needed to be said. She didn't want to jump to when everything came apart, it would be like taking a short cut and she didn't want to cheat. Not this time and not in regards to this. Damon kept quiet at her admission, silently encouraging her to continue. "You were the bane of my existence; I even dreaded seeing you at times because I just knew you'd have a joke at my expanse... as a child that can really be daunting."

She paused to slowly allow herself to breathe. She'd never thought this would be so difficult. It would be so much easier to just give him her journals and allow him to make sense for himself of her scribbles. "And then 6th grade happened," she added in a quieter tone. "When Tom Swayer pointed out that there was a blood stain on my white shorts I was completely and utterly mortified. I wanted to die in that moment but then you... you came to my rescue like you hadn't just last week been teasing me about my absent breasts."

"I believe I called them two pimples on your chest," Damon interjected and rather than anger her, it made Bonnie laugh.

A few tears escaped her eyes and she wiped them hastily away with the back of her hands. "Anyways, after that everything changed. I don't even remember most of it, just that one day I didn't hate you anymore and I actually looked forward to being around you," she said.

"Those were some crazy times," Damon agreed. "But we had fun, didn't we?"

"Yeah, yes we did."

"Then what went wrong?"

Bonnie had never spoken about it. Not even with Elena, who she suspects knew, but was too much of a considerate friend to call her out. "I fell in love with you," she replied and saying it wasn't as hard as she'd thought it would've been. "I fell in love with you and it hurt like hell because it seemed you were in love with just about everyone but me. God, it used to just incense me!

I'd keep asking myself what was wrong with me. Why wasn't I enough? And at that age stuff like that messes you up more than you think. There I was falling all over myself over you all the while you treated me like your friend who just happened to be a girl. At times it felt like you were teasing me with your affections, like you knew and so you were using it against me. Those moments were the worse so much more worse."

Her fingers were digging into her legs. "For so long, even after I'd left, it was about you," she admitted. "I'd be walking in the streets of New York and I'd see you at least a hundred times. You were literally everywhere."

"Why didn't you come back?" he asked. "I wanted you to come back, I must have spent that whole summer after you left waiting for you."

Bonnie sniffled slightly. "Because how things ended still hurt," she answered. She didn't want to drudge up that night. It no longer hurt, but it was something neither of them needed to revisit. Because it wasn't about that night, but every other night he'd made her feel so much more than she'd ever felt.

"If I-"

But she shook her head. "You really hurt me Damon but it wasn't just about you," she said. "I needed to really get to know myself, I needed to start from scratch and just freefall, come what may. Those months before I left, so much of me was lost because of us."

"And you hated me for it?"

"Hate you?" Bonnie actually laughed. "Damon, I could never hate you. I didn't just love you with my heart, that's why when it broke I couldn't hate you- I loved you with my soul."

"Then tell me Bonnie," he began, breaking the brief silence that had fallen between them. "Why the hell didn't you ever give me a chance?"

"I gave you a chance!"

It was Damon's turn to shake his head. "You never trusted me with your love, Bonnie," he said. "Do you think I was so thick I couldn't see how you held back?"

Bonnie glanced away from him. How does she explain the fear loving him had and still has over her? It's frightening when someone touches your soul. It's like they strip you of everything and leave you bare and naked.

"You have this habit of just bottling it all up inside," he continued. "You never really let anyone in, not Elena, Caroline or even me. I'm a lot of things but I'm not psychic."

Bonnie's heart was racing, thumping uncomfortably in her chest seeming to suffocate her. Her eyes were staring wide eyed at Damon as she stood rooted to the spot. Damon leaned forward closing the gap between them; his cold hands cupped her face as he stared earnestly into her eyes. "Let me in, Bonnie," he begged softly and maybe the wetness on her cheeks was the rain and not her tears.

His lips were brushing against her trembling lips, almost feather light in their tenderness. "Let me in, Let me in, let me in..."

/

Damon's eyes are an intense blue that terrifies and draws you in all at the same time. And maybe she wasn't thinking straight, maybe this wasn't really happening. But then his cold fingers were pressing into her bare skin, digging into the flesh as if to leave imprints, leaving Goosebumps all over her skin.

The house though still unfinished had been cleaned inside but there still wasn't any electricity so they were standing in the bare and dark living room space. The only furnishing an overly opulent couch Bonnie had purchased on a whim a week ago.

She imagined she could hear her heartbeat in her ears and his under her fingertips, her hands splayed over his chest.

"Will you regret this?" Damon asked in a whisper even though they were alone.

_Would she_? Bonnie regretted so many things she'd done or not done in the past some of them involving Damon. Because she was heady around him, always afraid of never being able to touch the ground. But this wasn't about erasing the past rather finally having the night they should have had all those years ago, when her heart was bleeding with love for him.

So she shook her head. "No, I won't," she answered.

"Promise," he pressed but his hands were already gliding over her hips.

"Promise," she'd barely uttered the word and he'd already grasped her thighs hoisting her up. She wrapped her legs around his torso, wrapping her arms around his neck. She doesn't know how he managed to steer them towards the couch, his eyes pinned intensely on her own.

Then she was falling, her body being cushion by the plastic still covering the couch, but she wasn't alone. Damon was sinking with her. His right arm bracing himself above her. _If she could just stop crying, before she died of dehydration. _Bonnie couldn't help thinking.

"You said you hated me when we were kids," he began, his weight pressing against her. "But all I ever knew was loving you. And maybe I was crap at it, because really I was a just a punk and maybe a bit messed up. You were the only thing that ever felt right in my life. I'm so sorry that I kept forgetting that."

Then he was kissing her, almost as if he wanted to literally suck the breath out of her. There was a sense of desperation in every touch and something like nostalgia in the way his lips still knew the planes of her mouth so well. It felt like she'd been dead until he moulded his body with hers and he was now breathing life into her.

/

Bonnie isn't prepared when she finally gets called out, because it's all still so new and a bit frightening. Plus it's nothing definite yet and she and Damon are still at that process of trying not to rush things but failing miserably. Something about having to work through almost eight years of unresolved sexual tension.

"You're shacking up with Damon," Caroline accuses.

Bonnie's eyes widened in surprise and she can't help blurt out, "I'm what?" Because Caroline isn't really known for her intuitive nature, though she does have a tendency of calling out BS when she sees it.

And right now Bonnie is probably stamped all over with it.

"You, Damon are having crazy angst sex," Caroline elaborates before stabbing into a salad leaf. "What I don't get is the secrecy... I mean come on Bonnie, the two of you have been hooking up long before you actually hooked up."

"What?" Bonnie stutters, because her vocabulary has been reduced to dumb one-liners.

Caroline rolls her eyes, she gives her a wary look. "It was always going to happen you know?"

"No, I don't know-"

"It was like inevitable... it just hovered over us all in a way," her blonde friend continued as if she hadn't said anything. "Like even though I think Damon is an ass... the thing is, this thing between you guys has just always kind of consumed every moment whenever both of you were in the same room."

"Really?" Bonnie scoffed.

"Really," Caroline confirmed. She dug into her salad, leaving Bonnie feeling like the conversation was somewhat anti-climatic.

"That's all you're going to say?" Bonnie asked incredulous.

Caroline swallows before responding. "Because there's really all there is to say. You guys are all about-" she suddenly stopped talking, her eyes going wide as she dropped her fork, looking over Bonnie's shoulder. "Stefan?!"

Bonnie turned and sure enough Stefan Salvatore was slowly making his way towards them, easily navigating through the closely packed tables around the small cafe'. "The prodigal son finally returns," she says by way of greeting as she stands up to give him a hug.

"I got your message," is all he whispers before pulling away to accept Caroline's overly enthusiastic embrace. The blonde bombshell is already talking a mile a minute, throwing him with random questions and subjecting him to an impromptu interrogation.

Stefan smoothly answers Caroline's questions though he is a bit vague about the details.

_Where has he been?_

_Poland._

_Don't they have call reception, because she's been calling him and he hasn't returned any of her calls!_

_Call reception is fine, he just needed to clear his head a bit._

_Did he clear his head?_

_Yeah, he's good now._

And so it goes until Caroline has to return to work. "Unlike Bonnie" is what she says before gathering her stuff. She blows them both kisses before making her exit.

Finally alone Bonnie turns her full attention to Stefan. "So you're back?" she asks unnecessarily.

He steeples his fingers together and places them on the table. "Yeah, I'm back." He answers before asking, "Are you back?"

Bonnie doesn't know yet. "I'm back, but maybe not _back _back yet," she replies.

Stefan gives her a wry smile, before his expression turns serious. "I got your message en route back, so I figured it would be better if we spoke in person."

"And, where do you want to begin?"

He shifts in his seat, hunching forward slight before speaking, "Let's begin with what Elena's told you happened."


	7. Chapter 7

Stefan gives her a wry smile, before his expression turns serious. "I got your message en route back, so I figured it would be better if we spoke in person."

"And, where do you want to begin?"

He shifts in his seat, hunching forward slight before speaking, "Let's begin with what Elena's told you happened."

"Straight for the jugular," Bonnie remarked, her turn to shift in her seat before tucking back some loose strands of her behind her ears. "Well she didn't tell me much really and I didn't want to push." She began. "From what she said I got the impression there was a third pregnancy? Only well there's just Gemma and Johnathan." Finally getting her suspicions of her chest, was surprisingly freeing.

Stefan didn't speak immediately, sitting quietly in his seat for several long seconds. "You're right," he eventually confirmed and Bonnie's chest tightened uncomfortable. "Six months ago, Elena found out she was pregnant. I was of course over the moon about the whole thing, but not surprising Elena not so much. In fact I think fear of going through that emotional rollercoaster she went through after Gemma turned into anger."

"She blamed you," Bonnie stated.

He nodded. "Among other things, things got bad Bonnie," he continued. "Worse than the time I came back from my first semester in university to find she'd decided she was in love with Damon."

Bonnie didn't know much about that time, mostly because she hadn't been around and also because personally she had not wanted to know about Elena and Damon being a thing. "But no matter how bad things got... Elena wouldn't- she wouldn't get rid of the baby. At least not the Elena I know," she said, because Elena was still her best friend and Bonnie refused to believe she'd do something so cruel.

Stefan heaved a sigh before giving her an unconvincing smile. "You know for a time, I actually wished she'd had an abortion... I know it seems cruel but it would have been easier." He said.

"What happened?"

He shrugged. "It just happened you know... there was no warning... nothing. She just lost the baby just like that," he sounded so lost right than that Bonnie grabbed his clenched hands.

She didn't even know where to start. "Stefan, I'm so sorry-"

"I kept thinking that if I hadn't been pressuring her to make a choice, all but telling her that if she harmed that baby I'd walk, that maybe she wouldn't have been under all that stress."

"Don't you dare blame yourself," Bonnie all but ground out. "This was nobody's fault. Not yours, not Elena's - no one. You hear me Stefan?"

He glance dup at her. "I know now... that's what I was working out. That and well where it leaves me and Elena," he said softly.

Bonnie's brows furrowed. "You aren't thinking of ending your marriage?" she asked, somewhat panicked. Elena and Stefan where like the North on a compass, a constant and she needed constant right now with everything else unravelling.

"No," Stefan responded as he shook his head. "I may not have always been the love of Elena's life, but she has always been mine. I just couldn't walk away from all that."

Bonnie could understand. She'd tried running away from Damon only to find that unbeknownst to her, she kept running until she was back in his arms. Full circle.

Stefan cleared his throat, sitting up and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I really didn't imagine our reunion would be so heavy," he joked, only half teasing.

She could see he was trying to lift the oppressive mood over them, so she gave him one of her best smiles. "Me neither, but let's face it -where angst is concerned, we've always been right up there," she even made a gesture in the air of their standing in the angst pyramid.

Stefan gave an easy chuckle before he stole a fry from her forgotten plate. "So my relationship aside, I was quite the call centre," he said, his eyes shining.

Bonnie munched on a cold fry. "How so?" she asked.

"I also got a voice message from Damon," he explained "Which is completely shocking, because Damon never calls unless he is in trouble, about to get himself in trouble... or if it's about you."

"About me?" Bonnie asked innocently. Inwardly she wondered to what happened to keeping things between them until she got the chance to talk to Elena. Caroline was already covered, she'd figured it out on her own.

"Specifically you and him," Stefan elaborated. "Wanted advice."

"Damon called you for relationship advice?" Bonnie asked dumbly. "How did the world not come to an end?" she added incredulous.

Stefan smiled. "My same sentiments, but he sounded really serious and sober so I got the feeling it was serious," he paused to give her a meaningful look. "And is it serious, Bonnie?"

Bonnie worked her lower lip as she pondered the very straightforward question. "It's a bit complicated. Damon and I don't really do simple," she finally replied.

Stefan seemed to accept her reply. "I'm glad you finally addressed the elephant in the room."

"Why are you guys acting like it was this big unresolved situation?" Bonnie asked with an eye roll.

"Because it was," he answered before stealing another fry. Bonnie let him, she figured cross country trips could be ravenous without contemplation being your constant nourishment.

/

Desperately like a drowning man, Bonnie tried to cling onto her reasoning, but her body, that traitor, refused to work in tandem with her- rejoicing at the almost sinful sensations travelling through her body. But eventually she somehow managed to pull away from the intoxicating drug that was Damon's shamefully soft lips. "Damon, this is wrong," she panted out.

His eyes were glazed over with lust. "You're right, we have far too many clothes on," he agreed, capturing her lips while simultaneously rolling up her top.

"Damon, I'm serious," Bonnie all but whined. He was not making this easy for her; she hated being the voice of reason.

"So am I," Damon said, his hands on her skin momentarily distracting her.

She moved away, it felt almost painful. "We can't do this in Elena's house," she protested. "Anyone could just walk in on us."

"Hence the locked door," Damon said as if explaining something to a slow person.

Bonnie heaved a sigh. "It just feels wrong, okay," she said. "Besides we are supposed to be taking things slow."

He got a mischievous glint in his eyes as he leaned over her body, pressing her onto the bed. "I can do slow," he said in a husky whisper. "Real slow."

Damn the gods that decided Damon Salvatore should be so fucking sexy just so as to torment her. She covered her face with her hands, groaning inwardly as she fought against the urge to practically jump him.

"Bonnie?"

"Hmmm?"

"Look at me, Beautiful," he prompted, keeping silent until she withdrew her hands and met his gaze. "It's okay."

She gave him a doubtful gaze. "It is?"

Damon nodded. "I don't want you to think it's just about the sex... even though the sex is truly amazing," he said. "This," he traced her face. "This is real and until you feel it like I do, I'm willing to be patient."

Her heart did that flip it always got when he said something so incredibly un-Damon-like. "You're willing to give up sex until we sort everything out?" she asked, awed.

"What?" Damon blinked. "I never said that."

"But you just said you would be patient and-"

"And I was patient all of three minutes," he interrupted tugging at her jeans. "Seriously Bonnie, I'm only human how am I supposed to not want to screw you all the way to next Tuesday and every Tuesday after that? It should be obvious by now that I'm a Bonnie-holic."

"You think you're so smooth," she teased, fisting his hair in her hand.

He gave her a cocky look. "Believe me, Bons, I know it," he said, pressing a kiss on her jugular. "And you obviously need your memory refreshed."

Bonnie laughed and was already caving in when her cell phone started ringing, interrupting the moment.

"Ignore that," Damon all but growled into her skin. "It's probably some sexually deprived person with an agenda against me."

"Or an emergency," Bonnie said practically.

Damon groaned but he reached over to her nightstand and retrieved her phone. "And I stand uncorrected," he muttered offering her the phone after glancing at the screen.

Bonnie glanced at caller ID: Caroline.

/

"So good ol' Stefan has returned on his white steed," Damon drawled as he entered the kitchen.

Elena glanced at him over her shoulder. "Hello to you too Damon,' she said dryly before pouring coffee into a cup. "Would you like a cup?" she asked him.

He sauntered further into the room. "I find it insulting that you'd think I could drink coffee at 11am," he said.

"Beer it is," Elena quipped as she made her way to the fridge, pulling out a beer. She unscrewed the cap before pouring the contents in a glass. _Because nobody was allowed to drink straight from the bottle in Elena's presence. _

Sometimes Damon couldn't help wondering when Elena became such a Martha Stewart, minus the rap sheet. "Thanks," he said accepting the glass. He gave Elena a pointed look. "So how are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Good, he's back so that's what is important," she said.

Damon wondered if Elena really believed that or was saying it for everyone's benefit. Had he been the sympathetic type he might have prodded deeper, but he wasn't so... "Great, so are looking for a babysitter?" he asked casually. "I know Penny is going to be off in a few days."

"It's Paula," Elena automatically corrected.

"Penny is just so much easier to pronounce."

She gave him an exasperated look, before eying him suspiciously. "Why are you asking if I need a babysitter... I've always worked from home, so I'm capable of taking care of Gem and Johnathan."

"Yes, yes but you're also married," Damon said. "And unless those kids popped out from the sky, you and Stefan need to remember how to shag like bunnies eventually. "

"Oh and since when have you been so concerned about my sex life?" Elena asked with amusement.

Since Elena's sex life, or rather her sex life on hiatus was hindering his own sex life. He loved Bonnie like crazy, but she was taking this whole taking things slow think a bit too far. Add that to her not wanting to offend Elena by having sex in her house and little Damon was not a happy camper.

"You know me, always putting other people's needs before my own," he answered with a dismissive wave.

Elena snorted, not buying it for a second. "And I'm the tooth fairy," she drawled, before sipping her cup. "Does this have anything to do with you and Bonnie's not so secret relationship?"

"What are you, stalking my Facebook relationship status?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not blind, Damon."

_Even though Elena had come to the conclusion all on her own, Bonnie would think he somehow let it sleep. He never won. _

"That obvious, huh?"

"Like a lighthouse," Elena agreed. She tucked her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "Don't fret... I have a feeling Bonnie and I are going to end up talking about it tonight."

"Right, you have that thing with what's her face," Damon remembered. "Caroline does realise that only single, desperate people initiate these sorts of get-togethers?"

"You're just jealous because you can't come and have eye sex with Bonnie," Elena said.

Damon smirked roguishly, "There's always this evening during dinner."

/

"So what's the special occasion?" Bonnie quipped. Her and Elena occupied seats around Caroline's kitchen. The blonde having invited them over for an overdue reunion- just between them girls. Under no uncertain terms were either of them allowed to bring their plus one and further remind her of her currently single status.

Caroline returned, holding up a bottle of tequila. "Nothing," she replied. "Just celebrating our friendship and all the shit we have overcome," she said placing the bottle in the middle.

Bonnie eyed the bottle warily. "And we do this buy drowning our livers?" she asked dryly.

"If we are going to do this right, then there's no other way," Caroline declared as she gathered three shot glasses, placing one before each of them before retaking her seat.

"I can't even remember the last time I drank anything other than that lone single glass of wine on occasion," Elena mused aloud.

Caroline gave her a sympathetic pat on the hand. "I could tell you were dying of thirst." She admitted as she began to pour the contents into each glass. "All I know it's been far too long and none of you bitches are leaving until you can't walk straight."

They laughed, lifting their drinks.

"Tradition dictates we have to say what we drinking for before we do," the blonde continued. "As our returned sister, Bonnie you get to go first."

"Just my luck," Bonnie teased rolling her eyes. She eyed the drink than glanced at each face around her. "Well this one is for finally gaining the strength to leave Troy's cheating ass."

Elena and Caroline sounded their agreements before they all threw their drinks back. It went straight to Bonnie's head, making her shudder involuntarily.

Once all of them had finished their drinks, Caroline refilled their glasses. "Okay I drink to myself," she began with a wry grin. "And finally doing what I love which is bringing this town to 21st century style with my extremely stylish advice."

Peals of laughter echoed around the kitchen before they dispatched the contents of their second shots. Bonnie could swear she was beginning to feel the effects, the strain she'd been feeling since Stephen's revelations earlier were beginning to ebb away. She was certain that before the night's end she'd finally have the courage to initiate The Talk with Elena.

"You're turn, Elena," Caroline said after refilling the glasses once more.

Elena hesitated before picking up her drink. "Well, I have so much to be thankful for, I don't even know where to start..." she admitted with a slight grin.

"How about the short version?" Caroline suggested. "It's ladies night out, Elena... not Thanksgiving."

"Okay... I guess I drink to my family... which FYI includes both of you," she said.

"Five more drinks and you'll forget saint Elena and start thanking God for the amazing sex you've had in your life," Caroline quipped just as they were all throwing back their drinks.

Bonnie's laughter bubbled upwards and she ended up snorting and coughing the bulk of her drink. _She'd really missed this_. She couldn't help realising.

It was so strange, when she'd planned on coming back, it was about running away and finding refuge from the storm that had become her life. Instead her return felt like therapy, forcing her to slowly but surely deal with all the problems she often wore like a badge.

"Oh dear, what's with that look?" Caroline asked.

"What look?" Bonnie asked innocently.

"The 'I'm busy reflecting on the awesomeness of this moment' look," Elena supplied.

Caroline squealed. "God, I've missed this Elena!"

Elena laughed while rolling her eyes. "You say that like I've become boring or something,' she scoffed.

"I'm glad you brought it up, but that's a conversation for another time," Caroline said before turning to Bonnie. "So Bonnie?"

"You guys aren't going to give me a free pass?" she asked unnecessarily, for which she received two shakings of the head. Heaving out a sigh, she picked up the tequila bottle before taking a long swing.

"Woah, save some for the rest of the legion," Elena joked.

Bonnie smiled as she whipped her mouth with the back of her hand, placing the bottle down. "I was just thinking how good it is to be back," she confessed with a slight shrug.

"Not as awkward as you thought it would be?" Elena asked.

"Much less..." she admitted. "It feels like since I returned it's been my birthday." Elena and Caroline silently prompted her to continue. "There are surprises but there is also elation... like the start of a new chapter."

"Your birthday," Elena echoed. "The start of something wondrous and unknown... I like that."

Bonnie hadn't thought she was being all that poetic, but she liked Elena's interpretation.

"But it's not your actual birthday... so don't be expecting any gifts," Caroline stated.

"Caroline!" Elena and Bonnie exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's not her birthday!" the blonde exclaimed defensively.

**Author's note**: And we continue with the half ass editing, but it's only because I'm trying to finish this off between having a life and drowning in real work. Forgive me. Thank you so much for the reviews! To be honest I was expecting a somewhat cool reception, what with having dropped off the face of the earth for almost a year. Personally I feel like I too deserve a tequila shot, for updating so soon.

Maybe I'm dragging all the emotions Bonnie is going through? But I feel like coming back home after a while is always a process, seeing old faces, meeting up and catching up with friends and family. It just doesn't happen in a chapter so hence why Bonnie is still feeling it out.

If there's anyone wondering about 'About Last Night' it hasn't been abandoned and eventually I will update it. Someday... Somehow chapter 4 will be updated.


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